<a href="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/plane_jpg.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-263" title="plane_jpg" src="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/plane_jpg-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a>Early this summer, a T-34B aircraft from the Lemoore Navy Flying Club flew to the <a title="SJVC Aviation" href="http://www.sjvc.edu/aviation-campus/">SJVC Aviation Campus </a>at the Fresno Airport and spent a few days in our school. It really added some class and bling to our hangar!

During its stay, our <a title="Aviation Maintenance Technology" href="http://www.sjvc.edu/aviation-maintenance-technology/">Aviation Maintenance Technology </a>(AMT) instructors, Lionel Smith, Larry Kenitzer, Don Dutra, and Jason Alves (who is also our Academic Dean), performed an annual inspection on the vintage plane. In addition to being full-time instructors at SJVC, Lionel serves as the Navy Flying Club’s Maintenance Officer while Jason and Larry are volunteer mechanics with the club.

The inspection of visiting aircraft gave the AMT students a chance to see real-world problems that arise in older aircraft while at the same time, providing a golden opportunity for professional development for the instructors.

We tell our students to be prepared to back up their work because they just don’t know when they’ll be flying onboard the aircraft they just serviced. Indeed, when CDR Todd Nelson arrived from the club to perform the maintenance check-flight required of this aircraft, he asked Larry Kenitzer, who signed off on the annual inspection, to jump in the back seat and join him.

One of the many checks required is a 3G maneuver (imagine being in a flying rollercoaster) to check the landing gear uplocks. All systems performed well and you couldn’t wipe the smile off Mr. Kenitzer’s face at the end of the flight. We hope to see that beautiful yellow aircraft back in our hangar in the future.

-Jack MacFarlene